4 day holiday 14-17/2/14

By Rhiannonw

Sat, 22 Feb 2014
  • 2927 reads
11 comments
 

Friday Bitter storm,
museum warm
gales all night,
morning bright.

Saturday Llanymynech hill,
where long time past,
full trucks rushed down the ‘inclines’
lifting back the empties
– their slopes remain there still –
and now are paths to climb to quarry face,
and reach the place of vista vast.

Sunday Worship, fellowship,
afternoon sunshine:
towpath ambling ramble,
twig tracery and winter grass
canal reflections in its placid glass.    

Monday Drizzle, we venture
to visit Pistyll Rhaeadr*:
rivers everywhere in spate,
so as expected, powerful water weight
chucked, thrown over from amazing height,    
spilling, splashing, crashing spray;
climb around up to the top
to see the deluge drop,
and there, far down below our feet
the rain no longer hides
the valley floor,
and rags of cloud drift up about
its basin sides.

Lastly stop at Vyrnwy’s dam cascade,
where, at the bird-hide window
containers hang with proffered seed
and tiny coal and marsh** tits dart to feed
among the chaffinches that wait, in nearby bush,
their turn to peck in darting rush.

*At 240ft (80m) high it is probably the UK’s tallest vertical waterfall, coming from the rain shed on the Berwyn Mountains, near Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant in Powys, Wales, twelve miles west of Oswestry.

**might have been willow tits!

Certificate U
Poem
Countryside explorations
Nature
Autobiography

Comments

Submitted by Bee on

This is such a beautiful poem, Rhiannon - filled with lovely rhymes, half rhymes and pleasing alliteration . So well thought through, and what a wonderful holiday! The area is stunning and so is your description.  Thank you for sharing - I wish I could be there - even for the storms. It must have been a lovely break.

Bee

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

I felt it would be good to have a record of the interest and enjoyment of the little holiday - again an opportunity for break from caring responsiblities - in particular considering how stormy the start of it was on that Friday. Glad you enjoyed reading about it, thanks, Bee. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Bear, glad you enjoyed the visit! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

A wonderfully pictorial poem, Rhiannon...one of your very many best, I think. Your descriptions are second to none, and as Bee says, crafted, poetically, so expertly.

Very much enjoyed.

Tina

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

thank you so much for your appreciation, Tina. And I am glad you enjoyed the little visits! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Ooh Rhiannon I wish I was with you and your husband out in the wilds of Wales. I can relate to 'bitter storm museum warm' too, when the weather is too wet to enjoy outdoor time away from home museums are always my first port of call too. I have great memories of the science museum in Milan last year; it is situated in a former religious building and I learnt a surprising amount of interesting info about Marconi and the story of radio from then on (athough I have now forgotten it all!)smiley    Elsie

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Glad you could enjoy it a bit second-hand then Elsie.
It's funny about museums - I find my husband seems to want to read every little bit of info, but i have to skim through back and fore, and this time I really enjoyed a time in the children's educational experiments/button pressing while I was waiting. (actually, he joined me there then and wanted a go at everything! It was really well presnted.) Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Denzella on

As is your poem, Rhiannon.  'Really well presented' that is.  I'm like your husband I want to read all the info or study all the paintings but my husband has been right round while I am still in the first room.  Your poem has made me feel like I have had a little holiday break too.

Moya

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

That's good, Moya. With the way the weather had been, and that we were rather tired, it was nice to make a record of the good time we'd been given. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by jeand on

HI Rhiannon

I like the way you tell the story of the whole period of several days - with the various highlights. I love the waterfall.

Jean

Jean Day

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you, Jean. It was lovely despite the wild start of the weekend!
Reading these 'countryside explorations' with you, I do seem to go on in my replies about appreciated breaks from caring responsibilites, - of course, they weren't written necessarily close together, but I suppose I was always so appreciative of the details of these explorations, especially when the stress of both my in-laws dependence had felt a bit chlostrophobic! Rhiannon